What to do with an infection

[bdleedahl]

hey my recent batch of beer has that this white filmy layer on top of it like the many other pictures of infected batches around here, can i rack from underneath it and drink it if its not sour, will it go bad in bottles over time or get better... what have other people done when this happens... or should i just toss the whole thing out... i want to know if its worth my time to bottle it, or if it will just keep getting worse

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

The one time I've had an infection, I kegged it because I didn't want to risk bottle bombs. It got worse over time.

Whatever you do, don't bottle unless you know for a fact that the bacteria isn't eating away at your gravity. If you bottle it and it's still fermenting.....Boom.

Drink them fast and hopefully it's not an infection that ruins the taste too bad.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Sorry but if it is infected it is infected all the way thru. I guess you could get lucky and it be sour in a way you may like, but more than likely its trash. I haven't had to trash one yet, but I expect I will sometime.( I have had to trash single bottles)

 

[Almighty]

Get a sample from the beer. Measure the gravity and then taste the sample to see if it is worth salvaging. If it still tastes fine then let it sit a few more days and check the gravity to find out if the infection is producing CO2. Then taste it again. If it still tastes good then it is probably safe to bottle.

 

[bdleedahl]

this isnt mine, but it`s another that looks similar, but much worse than mine, i`m sure its the same infection (unless they all look alike), what is it called.... can anyone else say theyve drank some after it looked like this

 

[slomo]

Pictures would help too.

 

[bdleedahl]

oops...

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk240/dlamb1158/DSC01404.jpg

 

[wyzazz]

Brettanomyces

 

[slomo]

Yeah that looks infected. I would still run it to the end though. Carefully Rack underneath the scum and keg it if you can. If you can only do bottles i would place them in a bomb shelter just to be sure.

 

[mmb]

I'd dump it, but then again, I don't like sour beer. If you have the space, let it work and see what turns out. If not, bleach holocaust that carboy and start over.

 

[bdleedahl]

this is really close to what mine looks like... is that brett as well

 

[wyzazz]

@bdleedahl - Nope, looks like yeast rafts floating up to the top because of the CO2 being produced. RDWHAHB

 

[bdleedahl]

note: neither of those are actually mine, but the second looks close... there is definately a solid layer of a thin white (something) on top, it has to be an infection, CO2 doesn`t create a film on top of the beer... if i bottle, will the film appear in the bottles as well

 

[wyzazz]

You should take a pic of your actual beer, that will be easier to diagnose.

 

[HorribleCatfish]

I drank every last drop of this. It was actually pretty good.

 

[bdleedahl]

of course the only camera i own is my cell phone, so this pictures arent exactly telling the whole story i dont think... because i know someone is gonna come on and say that those just look like CO2 bubbles (because they probably are), but i would say that they are trapped underneath this white filmy layer that is on top... i know its a solid layer because when i tilt the carboy back and forth it will clearly break and the exposed beer underneath is a different colour

ps i have no idea how to make the pictures smaller

 

[wyzazz]

Looks OK to me, but I'm not an 'Infection Expert'. How does it taste?

 

[bdleedahl]

i havent tasted it but it still smells like good beer to me

 

[bdleedahl]

will the white layer of stuff appear in the bottles too, if i decide to bottle and wait a couple weeks that is

 

[wyzazz]

If it's an infection then it will manifest itself in the bottles too, otherwise it shouldn't. Unless you need the bottles, bottle it and give it a shot! Who knows, it may be the best beer you've ever tasted!!!

 

[bdleedahl]

well i just bottled them, i guess we`ll see what happens

 

[Pivzavod]

Some people pay extra to get Brett

 

[wyzazz]

If you're too worried about it, I'll volunteer to try the first one. ;0) Ship it on out my way, heck I'll even send you one of mine in trade!

 

[mordantly]

heres what ya got: a yeast infection. get some over-the-counter cream and it'll clear right up!

no, um, i would rack from u8nder it and taste it. probably still fine.

 

[bdleedahl]

yeah i tasted it, and it tasted fine, but its always in the back of my head that there`s something wrong in it

 

[bdleedahl]

i was a barons canadian pilsner, and i used ranched wyeast 1968, probably the exact opposite yeast that should be used, but that strain of yeast dominates the flavour and it tasted not bad at all

 

[HorribleCatfish]

yeah i tasted it, and it tasted fine, but its always in the back of my head that there`s something wrong in it

I posted a picture of an infected brew I drank a few posts back. It was a good beer...you may be worrying now, but there is also a chance that down the road you may be saying "damn, I wish I could replicate that again".

 

[bdleedahl]

I posted a picture of an infected brew I drank a few posts back. It was a good beer...you may be worrying now, but there is also a chance that down the road you may be saying "damn, I wish I could replicate that again".

if that is the case, i will be pleasantly surprised